Battery terminal connection



Aug. 25, 1936. A, SWEET BATTERY TERMINAL CONNECTION Filed April 9, 1954 ,ZwMvnu/CLM Snow way! Patented Aug. 25, 1936 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFHQE This invention relates to battery terminal con- .nections, such as employed for connecting conductors to the terminal posts of batteries.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a terminal connection of simple construction, which will enable the connection to be loosened from the post without necessitating loosening of its connection to. the conductor or cable to which it is connected.

A further object of the invention is to provide 7 a terminal connection of this kind, of very simple construction, and of few parts, and in which the means for clamping the cable is readily adapted for holding cables of different diameters.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficient battery terminal. I

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan showing a portion of the upper side of a battery having a terminal post, and illustrating one of my connections attached thereto with the cable broken away.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1, as viewed from the upper side of Fig. 1, the battery and a portion of the cable being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and further illustrating details of the construction. This view also shows a portion of the battery broken away.

Referring more particularly to the parts, I indicates a battery having the usual upwardly projecting tapering terminal post 2. In applying my invention to such a terminal post, I provide a collar 3 to be clamped on the post, and this collar is preferably in the form of a split ring that fits closely to the post and is in contact therewith throughout a zone extending over more than one-half the circumference of the post, and has two outwardly projecting lugs 4 and 5, which are disposed opposite to each other and with a gap between them, so that they can be drawn together to tighten the collar on the post. Collars for the purpose of the collar 3 are usually made of brass or other pliable metal so that they can readily press in upon the side of the post, and make close contact therewith when tightened up. One of the lugs, for example, the lug for clamping the end 6 of the conductor.

5, is constructed so that it can operate as a jaw This conductor is usually'in the form of a cable formed of a number of strands l of wire, and covered with insulation 8.

The lug 5 is preferably formed with an upwardly projecting integral jaw 9, and this jaw cooperates with a loose jaw ill.

I provide a clamping means for drawing the lugs 4 and 5 together, and means independent 10 of the same for forcing the jaw l5 toward the jaw 9 to clamp the cable end. By having the clamping means for the lugs i'and 5 independent of the means for clamping the cable, it is possible to loosen up the collar and remove it from the terminal post without loosening the cable. In order to accomplish this, I prefer to provide the lug 5 with a threaded opening! I, and I provide the lug 4 with an opening l2, and the lower-portion of the jaw ID with 'an'opening l3. Thesezo openings I2 and i3 are unthreaded. Passing through the three aligned openings, I provide a clamping member, preferably in the form of a bolt M, the threads of which engage in the threaded opening I I. This bolt is preferably applied, as indicated in Fig. 3, so that the head i5 and washer it are located on the outer side of the loose jaw I 0. By turning the bolt M in the proper direction, the loose jaw in will clamp the cable against the integral jaw 9 of the lug 5. The collar 3 can then be applied over the post, and a nut H on the end of the bolt, tightened up. This will clamp the collar on the post.

Suitable means is provided forpreventing rotation of the loose jaw It] on the axis of the bolt. In other words, I provide means for maintaining this loose jaw in an upright position, so as to clamp the cable while its axis is in a substantially horizontal position, and extending in a plane transverse to the vertical axis of the post 2. In the present instance, I accomplish this by providing the upper portion of the loose jaw it with an extension l8, which projects in a horizontal direction and extends over the upper edge of the jaw 9. I also prefer to provide the upper edge of the jaw 9 with a V-shaped tooth l9 that is received in a V-shaped socket 20 formed in the under side of the extension Hi. This tooth and socket cooperate to align the vertical axis of the loose jaw in a vertical plane.

In some terminal clamps, the socket formed for the end of the cable is half round, and this has a tendency to limit the adaptabiilty or range of the clamp for clamping cables of different diameters.

I prefer to give the inner clamping face 20 of the loose jaw, approximately the form illustrated in Fig. 3. In order to do this, I form the lower portion of the jaw with an inclined inner face 2| that diverges from the adjacent vertical face of the lug 5 in an upward direction, and the upper end of this inclined face merges into a concave curved face 22 that is struck with a relatively large radius, and the end of this are 22 is substantially tangent to the inner and. under face of the extension I8. By constructing the loose jaw in this way, it cooperates with the bolt and the integral jaw to form a socket engaging the cable on all sides, and this socket can evidently clamp a relatively large cable or a relatively small cable with equal efficiency. If a small cable is employed, the clamping up of the loose jaw will form a relatively narrow clamping space between the loose jaw and the lug 5, and the strands I of the cable will shift so as to accommodate them to the shape of socket in which they are confined.

The point of intersection of the inclined face 2| and the lower face of the loose jaw, forms a toe 23 projecting toward the adjacent face of the lug 5. If the cable end is of very small diameter, this toe 23 may engage the face of the lug 5, and form a rocking point for the loose jaw, in which case, when the loose jaw is tightened up, its overhanging end l8 may project considerably beyond the inner face 24 of the jaw 9. The jaw 9, if desired, may be offset slightly in an outward plane from the plane of the jaw 5, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein, is only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

I claim:

1. A battery terminal connection having a collar in the form of a split ring to fit closely against the periphery of the terminal post and maintain contact therewith in a zone of contact extending over more than one-half of the circumference of the post, said collar having a pair of oppositely disposed lugs, one of said lugs having an upwardly projecting integral jaw for engaging a cable, a loose jaw separate from the collar, said lugs and said loose jaw having aligning openings, a bolt passing through said openings for drawing the lugs together to tighten the collar on the terminal post, and for forcing the loose jaw toward said integral jaw to clamp the cable, said loose jaw having a toe to rest upon the adjacent lug on one side of the bolt and having an extension on the other side of the bolt projecting toward the integral jaw and extending across and engaging the same to prevent rotation of the loose jaw on the axis of the bolt.

2. A battery terminal connection having a collar consisting of a split ring to fit closely against the periphery of the terminal post, said ring terminating at each side in an outwardly projecting lug, said lugs disposed oppositely to each other and. one of said lugs having an upwardly projecting integral jaw for engaging a cable of strands; a loose jaw separate from the collar, said lugs and said loose jaw having aligning openings, a bolt passing through said openings for drawing the lugs together to tighten the collar on the terminal post and for forcing the loose jaw toward said integral jaw, said loose jaw cooperating with said integral jaw and said bolt to form a socket engaging the strands of the cable on all sides of the cable, to clamp the same, said loose jaw having an extension projecting across and engaging the integral jaw to prevent rotation of the loose jaw on the axis of the bolt.

LAURENCE A. SWEET. 

